HUD Releases Worst Case Housing Needs Report

On May 24, HUD released their biannual Worst Case Housing Needs report to Congress. The findings, based on 2007 data, indicate that the number of households with worst case housing needs has decreased insignificantly from the number recorded in the previous report. This relative stagnation in worst case needs follows a 20 percent increase during the 2001 to 2005 period.

HUD defines worst case needs as very low-income renters who either pay more than one-half of their monthly income for rent or live in severely inadequate conditions. The primary cause of worst case needs is severe rent burden. During 2007, 5.91 million households, comprised of 12.97 million individuals, fell into this category.

Worst case needs were found across different family types, racial and ethnic groups, as well as geographical regions. Across community types, worst case needs were nearly evenly distributed between urban, suburban, and rural areas. Among unassisted very low-income households with disabilities, the likelihood of having worst case needs was 66 percent, making it the group with the highest incidence of worst case needs.

Findings on housing supply and neighborhood demographics indicate that there is an insufficient number of both affordable and available rental units for extremely low-income renters.